Prototype
by verity hunt
Summary: Kaiba's passion for his company's was only shadowed by a stronger, underlying desire for something completely different. Completely different and yet of such vital importance that he had dreamt up Battle City to achieve it.


_Author's note: This is set during the battle city timeline._

…

Kaiba decided to return to his private quarters after the test duel was complete. The god card that Isis had given him had proved to be most powerful, even against his very own blue eyes ultimate dragon. Now that tests on the new duel disks have finally been complete, the new generation of duel disks will be mass manufactured in preparation for battle city. Yes, Kaiba thought to himself, he'll not fail against Yugi again.

He had claimed exhaustion to the research and development team working for him after the duel and conceded to Mokuba's insistence on taking the rest of the day off. After saying goodbye to Mokuba (who decided stay behind in Kaiba's place to oversee R&D), he returned home. Once there he informed the staff of servants that he was tired, taking a nap and was not to be disturbed, for anything. He then retreated behind the locked doors of his bedroom, drew all of his curtains and finally sat down on the oversized armchair in the corner of his expansive room.

The truth is, he wasn't in the least bit tired. Bearing witness to the power of the god card Obelisk had set his blood pumping and his adrenaline rushing. He had sought privacy in his chambers at the moment, because it could not be contained anymore.

He had one more test to run on his Duel Disk.

Kaiba's Duel Disk has made obvious improvements, to its design and most notably the artificial intelligence of the game's various monsters. Kaiba's passion was to make this feature increasingly lifelike, so that these monsters will have different reactions to a limitless range of different scenarios and notably some of those would be to the detriment of the duelist themselves.

And of course, Kaiba's passion for his company's success in this endeavor was only shadowed by a stronger, underlying desire for something completely different. Completely different and yet of such vital importance that he had dreamt up Battle City to achieve it. It was the need to duel Yugi Mutou again, and win. And not only to win, but to humiliate him and break him. To give him back a little of what he dished out. It had become an increasing (he refused to call it obsession) commitment on his behalf since the day that Yugi defeated his blue eyes.

He hadn't bothered to remove the duel disk on his arm after the battle. It was still attached securely around his left arm and he extended his arm to activate it once again. Two tiny hologram projectors shot out from the device and was poised at the ready for Kaiba's duel cards.

With shaking hands, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. The young technological whiz had, under the very noses of his own R&D team, created a secret card. This card, which he kept hidden, was his and his alone, a secret that he kept close to him, and even from his little brother, Mokuba. He reached deep until his fingers touched the corner of the card. Slowly, he drew it out and placed it on the center space of the Duel Disk's card platform.

The space directly in front of Kaiba blurred before yielding an image, which slowly cleared to reveal Yugi Mutou. Or rather, a different Yugi. On one hand, yes, it was Yugi, but Kaiba had slightly modified the image he had acquired. It wasn't that he looked that much different from Yugi (he had the hair and clothes), but that there were minute differences. The boy in the hologram was obviously taller. His jaw was hard set and he met Kaiba's stare with unyielding eyes. That was the biggest difference between this Yugi and his living counterpart -- his eyes. A fiery red, they weren't eyes that reflected innocence and naivete, but timeless experience and cunning. The confidence radiated from this Yugi, mocking Kaiba for having lost to him. Kaiba welcomed this; it had become easier for his mind to accept a losing to a cool, confident master than a small, insignificant boy.

The holographic Yugi's eyes narrowed and one corner of his mouth quirked in a grin. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Kaiba's command, but yet, daring him to make one.

Kaiba's face broke out into a grin of his own. This was his chance to humiliate Yugi before getting a chance at the real one.

"Strip," he said.


End file.
